--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No government knows any limits to its…" description: "\"No government knows any limits to its power except the endurance of the people.\" — Lysander Spooner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/lysander-spooner-3260_endurance_no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-po_1169037.png" --- # No government knows any limits to its power except the… ![“No government knows any limits to its power except the endurance of the people.” quote by Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/lysander-spooner-3260_endurance_no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-po_1169037.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/lysander-spooner-3260_endurance_no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-po_1169037.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/lysander-spooner-3260_endurance_no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-po_1169037.png) > “No government knows any limits to its power except the endurance of the people.” [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Government power is limited only by the willingness of people to endure it. **In simple terms:** People’s endurance caps government power. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant and protect civil liberties. Themes politics power civil rights resistance Mood defiant hopeful Type political activist When to use this quote - activism - voting - public protest - community organizing Key Concepts libertarianism social contract authoritarianism Questions to Reflect On - What limits can citizens place on authority? - How does civic engagement affect power balances? A Different Perspective Endurance can be eroded by apathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Endurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endurance/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [I'm interested in endurance. People persist in the face of the most excruciating hardships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-silver/i-m-interested-in-endurance-people-persist-in-the-face-of-the-most/) [Marisa Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-silver/) > [“The people who are successful at things they pursue are the people who have endurance. People who don't stop”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nimmin/the-people-who-are-successful-at-things-they-pursue-are-the-people/) Nick Nimmin > [A wise government knows how to enforce with temper, or to conciliate with dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grenville/a-wise-government-knows-how-to-enforce-with-temper-or-to-conciliate-2/) George Grenville > [ It is doubtful that the government knows much more than the public does about how government \[Economic\] policies will work. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-allen-wallis/it-is-doubtful-that-the-government-knows-much-more-than-the-public/) W. Allen Wallis > [Just as Government knows Brexit must not slam the door shut on our relationship with our European neighbours, it must not close down safe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-allen/just-as-government-knows-brexit-must-not-slam-the-door-shut-on-our/) [Heidi Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-allen/) > [We have no idea how much the government knows and how much the CIA even knows about average citizens. The government is not supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/we-have-no-idea-how-much-the-government-knows-and-how-much-the-cia/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [Mr. Obama is proud of his belief that government knows best. When he told the world that individuals were not totally responsible for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/mr-obama-is-proud-of-his-belief-that-government-knows-best-when-he/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [“The greatness of God's government knows no end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-greatness-of-god-s-government-knows-no-end/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [The Gujarat government knows what's in the interest of consumers. When they plan, they ensure they can save every single rupee or earn every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piyush-goyal/the-gujarat-government-knows-what-s-in-the-interest-of-consumers-when/) [Piyush Goyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piyush-goyal/) > [The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/the-limits-of-tyrants-are-prescribed-by-the-endurance-of-those-whom/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [A man knows his limits, but a real man can overcome them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-martin/a-man-knows-his-limits-but-a-real-man-can-overcome-them/) [Travis Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-martin/) > [Love knows No limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-knows-no-limits/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love Knows No Limits... And No Gender-Bounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/love-knows-no-limits-and-no-gender-bounds/) Pacifiersucker > [Medicine knows no limits, expecially not its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-kocher/medicine-knows-no-limits-expecially-not-its-own/) [Gerhard Kocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-kocher/) > [A girl knows her limits, but a wise girl knows she has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/a-girl-knows-her-limits-but-a-wise-girl-knows-she-has-none/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) ## More by Lysander Spooner > [Slavery, if it can be legalized at all, can be legalized only by positive legislation. Natural law gives it no aid. Custom imparts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/slavery-if-it-can-be-legalized-at-all-can-be-legalized-only-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [The greatest of all crimes are the wars that are carried on by governments, to plunder, enslave, and destroy mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-greatest-of-all-crimes-are-the-wars-that-are-carried-on-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [Those who deny the right of a jury to protect an individual in resisting an unjust law of the government, deny him all defence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/those-who-deny-the-right-of-a-jury-to-protect-an-individual-in/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [I was put into jail as I was going to the shoemaker's to get a shoe which was mended. When I was let out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/i-was-put-into-jail-as-i-was-going-to-the-shoemaker-s-to-get-a-shoe/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [The single despot stands out in the face of all men, and says: I am the State: My will is law: I am your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-single-despot-stands-out-in-the-face-of-all-men-and-says-i-am-the/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [The Rothschilds, and that class of money-lenders of whom they are the representatives and agents - men who never think of lending a shilling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-rothschilds-and-that-class-of-money-lenders-of-whom-they-are-the/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [Who are ever taxed? Individuals only. Who have property that can be taxed? Individuals only. Who can give their consent to be taxed? Individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/who-are-ever-taxed-individuals-only-who-have-property-that-can-be/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [There can be no criminal intent in resisting injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/there-can-be-no-criminal-intent-in-resisting-injustice/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [Practically and commercially speaking, a dollar is not necessarily a specific thing, made of silver, or gold, or any other single metal, or substance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/practically-and-commercially-speaking-a-dollar-is-not-necessarily-a/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [If the jury have no right to judge of the justice of a law of the government, they plainly can do nothing to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/if-the-jury-have-no-right-to-judge-of-the-justice-of-a-law-of-the/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [If it be said that the consent of the strongest party in a nation, is all that is necessary to justify the establishment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/if-it-be-said-that-the-consent-of-the-strongest-party-in-a-nation-is/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [In reality there is no such thing as an inflation of prices, relatively to gold. There is such a thing as a depreciated paper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/in-reality-there-is-no-such-thing-as-an-inflation-of-prices/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [And there is no difference, in principle - but only in degree - between political and chattel slavery. The former, no less than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/and-there-is-no-difference-in-principle-but-only-in-degree-between/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [The Constitution has no inherent authority or obligation. It has no authority or obligation at all, unless as a contract between man and man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-constitution-has-no-inherent-authority-or-obligation-it-has-no/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [These so-called governments are in reality only great bands of robbers and murderers, organized, disciplined, and constantly on the alert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/these-so-called-governments-are-in-reality-only-great-bands-of/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) [Explore all 135 Lysander Spooner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) ## More Endurance quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [We're on the road 300 days a year. There's no recovery time. It's a test of your physical and mental endurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-phoenix/we-re-on-the-road-300-days-a-year-there-s-no-recovery-time-it-s-a/) [Beth Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-phoenix/) > [Grace is the wonderful spirit that imbues every fiber of our being when we practice the fruits of the spirit: kindness, patience, understanding, forgiveness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-cayce/grace-is-the-wonderful-spirit-that-imbues-every-fiber-of-our-being/) [Edgar Cayce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-cayce/) > [“I met Suffering on a quiet road, just as the sun was setting behind me. Its presence was heavy, like an old coat I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/i-met-suffering-on-a-quiet-road-just-as-the-sun-was-setting-behind-me/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [There must be a technique for meeting pain. There must be a technique of endurance based on the power of the soul to maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stannard-baker/there-must-be-a-technique-for-meeting-pain-there-must-be-a-technique/) [Ray Stannard Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stannard-baker/) > [We may be masters of our every lot By bearing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/we-may-be-masters-of-our-every-lot-by-bearing-it/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/life-is-not-a-pg-feel-good-movie-real-life-often-ends-badly/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [Technically, I've learned that having good legs and wind is good for being on stage. You have to be in shape and have endurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/technically-i-ve-learned-that-having-good-legs-and-wind-is-good-for/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [“Human endurance fascinates me, probably too much because more often than not, I think of life in terms of enduring instead of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/human-endurance-fascinates-me-probably-too-much-because-more-often/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [There is nothing which so certifies the genuineness of a man's faith as his patience and his patient endurance, his keeping on steadily in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-nothing-which-so-certifies-the-genuineness-of-a-man-s-faith/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The main thing about an endurance challenge is that you have to endure. Not so much physically, but mentally. Your mind gives up first.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milind-soman/the-main-thing-about-an-endurance-challenge-is-that-you-have-to/) [Milind Soman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milind-soman/) > [Nothing befalls any man which he is not fitted to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/nothing-befalls-any-man-which-he-is-not-fitted-to-endure/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“The only fight worthwhile is the fight of faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-only-fight-worthwhile-is-the-fight-of-faith/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/obstacles-are-necessary-for-success-because-in-selling-as-in-all/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [There were different kinds of strength. I knew that now. It didn't always come from a knife or a willingness to fight. Sometimes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/there-were-different-kinds-of-strength-i-knew-that-now-it-didn-t/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) [Browse all 1,001 Endurance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endurance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No government knows any limits to its power except the endurance of the people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lysander Spooner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-power-except-the-endurance-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Endurance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-power-except-the-endurance-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/lysander-spooner-3260_endurance_no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-po_1169037.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/lysander-spooner-3260_endurance_no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-po_1169037.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/lysander-spooner-3260_endurance_no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-po_1169037.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No government knows any limits to its power except the endurance of the people.” — Lysander Spooner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lysander Spooner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No government knows any limits to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-power-except-the-endurance-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/no-government-knows-any-limits-to-its-power-except-the-endurance-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```